The Dragon and The Princess
by Kaze no Ato
Summary: Princess Lucille "Lucy" Heartfilia runs away from her life in the palace under her father's rule and befriends the unlikeliest of beings. In a strange twist of events, she finds herself wishing to stay in the company of this amazing being. In progress, no ships for now.
1. Chapter 1

The Dragon and the Princess

In hindsight, Princess Lucille Heartfilia realized that running away wasn't like she had imagined it was going to be. Blame her pampered lifestyle, or all the books that she had read putting romanticized versions in her mind, but this running away thing was no easy business. It had taken nearly six months to plan and required the help of her personal maid and the captain of her guard. Loke had argued repeatedly with her about allowing him to accompany her upon leaving, and she had finally relented a month ago. The princess felt guilty when she fled the palace without informing him, knowing full well that her father would punish him severely if they were caught and she could not allow that to happen. She had escaped west from the palace grounds, timed her movements with the patrols as planned, all dressed in a loose tunic and trews given to her by Loke and a sturdy rucksack slung across her back.

Things had gone as planned the first two days into the journey from the only place she had ever known as home. Day three had brought an unexpected down pour that soaked her to the bone and caused her to lose all sense of direction. Day four consisted of the princess huddled against a large tree, shivering so violently that she had bitten the inside of her cheek. Day five saw her wandering the forest, barely seeing five feet in front of her with the rain and fog that had settled under the cover of the trees. Night was closing in as the sky darkened. She was helplessly lost. If she had only been able to see the stars. She would have been able to find her way, be able to navigate her way through the forest as ably as any sailor using star charts upon the open seas. The rain, the clouds, the cold… everything was preventing her from finding her way, however. A loud clap of thunder caused her to flinch, the flash of lightning blinded her momentarily and left spots in her vision for many minutes to follow.

Her vision had just started to clear when she heard – no, felt – a resonating, deep rumble that wasn't caused by the thunder. It sounded like a growl, only multiplied exponentially. Another round of thunder and lightning had her running through the forest. The blonde swore that her eyes were playing tricks on her. Her eyes told her that she had seen red, a scaly red, among the trees in that last burst of lightning. Fear crept in. A deep fear the likes of which she had never experienced before. In her panic, she tripped over a tree root and tumbled headlong into a thick patch of ferns and into the mud. Tears mixed with the rain upon her face as she curled into a ball on the forest floor. Her thoughts jumbled, as she lay there, disoriented. She should never have left the palace without Loke, perhaps should not have left at all. The princess was shivering in the mud, eyes clenched tight, when she heard the growl again. Her eyes snapped open wide, long enough for her to see a large scaled face looming in the darkness before her. Deep brown eyes locked with reptilian ones the strangest olive green/gray color she had ever seen. Shrieking was the last thing she remembered before the world went black.

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The dragon, for that is obviously what the creature in front of the princess was, did not know how to react. He had smelled a human in the forest. The scent of human wasn't overly common, as most knew the legends and stayed out of forest and away from the mountain that he had made his home. He had tracked the two-legged one for over a day, moving with unnatural silence for one of his size. The rain helped to mask his scent, which even a human could pick up on if he were close enough. It wasn't until the human had become so utterly lost that he moved in close. Dragon fear, a natural occurrence that deterred other beings from getting too close, caused the human to panic. He was the reason the human would become even more lost in his forest, and he needed to do something to herd the creature out. What he hadn't expected was the human to trip, his sensitive hearing picking up a panicked yelp as it fell down. The human was female.

Something stirred within the dragon, caused him to move in as she lay crying on the ground. His growl rumbled again as he smelled her fear. She looked at him, truly looked a dragon in the eye which caused the dragon fear to consume her. The shriek she let out rattled his bones in a way nothing had ever done before. The dragon knew he couldn't leave her there, knowing how fragile the soft skinned ones were and how susceptible to the cold they were. He let out a huff of hot air, steam rising into the misty air. The dragon looked at his talon-tipped claws, and back to the human woman. He huffed again. He couldn't let her die out here. There was only one option for him, one that he didn't care much for, but he had to do it.

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The first sensation upon waking was warmth, a warmth that was slightly too hot but not uncomfortable to feel. As she reached out her hand she felt that she was on something soft, though the hard ground was below that. She smelled smoke, though not overly heavy in the air. A soft material was draped across her body, and the princess realized that she was unclothed down to her undergarments. Her eyes opened, panic raced through her again. This was most definitely not the forest floor, was likely a cave somewhere. That was when she noticed a figure standing in the flickering shadows of the fire, which she now discerned was the source of the warmth she felt. The figure was male, that much she could make out. His feet were bare, legs clothed in simple white cloth the type a field hand might wear. His tanned and toned torso was as bare as his feet were, his face shrouded in the shadows.

She saw that he had tensed and shifted awkwardly from one foot to another under her scrutiny. The part of her that had lived in high society felt appalled that a man had undressed her, though the rational part of her realized that he had rescued her. He had gotten her out of the rain, given her something dry to lie upon and made a fire to keep her warm. This man had, in essence, saved her life. The princess stared openly at him as he took an unsteady step forward, as if he were unused to walking. Finally his face came into view, and she gasped in shock. His appearance was not what she had expected at all. He looked human, and yet did not. The dark salmon color of his hair was unnatural, to say the least, and she couldn't make out the color of his eyes from the distance he was at.

"I-I had to un... dress you." He said haltingly, his S sounds slightly hissed, "Apologies."

The princess sat up slowly, her heart thumping loudly in her ears. "It… it is all right. I understand that you did this to save me."

The man stepped closer, the fire illuminating his face in a warm glow. "Are you… " he struggled for a moment, "Warm enough?"

"Y-yes. I do appreciate the fire." She hugged the cloth to her chest, "May I know your name?"

He hesitated, not knowing what to tell her. He was having a hard time as it was, just talking to her. It was not in his nature to lie, however, so he spoke. "I am... called Dragneel, by most."

Her eyes widened. She had heard that name before, but it was spoken like a myth or legend. A story to warn children aware from venturing into the woods too deeply. The name belonged to a red dragon. She clutched the cloth tighter. Perhaps it was more than just a story. Memories flashed back to her of red among the trees as she ran, of the eyes she had looked into before fainting; the same eyes that looked back at her now from a face that was registering as human. "Dragneel..?"

"That is my given name." He sat unsteadily down on the stone floor. "You?"

"Lucille." The blonde blurted out, replying automatically. "I prefer to be called Lucy."

The salmon-haired man cocked his head to the side curiously, an odd sight for her to see. "Lu… shi?"

"No, Lu-CY."

"Lucy." He mimicked, "You may call me Natsu."

Lucy could not comprehend that she had just introduced herself to a man that shared a name with a dragon of legend. A man that shared the eyes of the dragon she had seen for herself. "How?" the word slipped out before she could catch herself, and Lucy slapped a hand over her mouth for her impertinence.

Natsu scooted closer to the woman, completely thrown by her. He rarely had contact with humans, mostly lost farmers or knights thinking to earn themselves fame by defeating a legend. He sniffed. She did not smell of fear as she did in the forest, or even as she had when she awoke. She wrinkled her nose at him as she realized he was sniffing her. Natsu found the expression amusing. Dragons were unable to make such expressions with the structure of their bones and maw. He decided that he had better answer her question before she became upset. "I can… change form. Not easily."

"You were the dragon I saw in the forest then?"

"Yes."

"I am talking with a dragon." She reiterated.

"You are."

"Huh." Lucy said, and fainted straight away.

Natsu flinched and then was distracted finding the movement of his facial muscles in this form to be amusing. He moved slowly toward the blonde girl and settled her back down to a more comfortable position. He eyed the cloth that she was upon with something akin to envy. If he were still in his natural draconic form he would not be feeling uncomfortable. Or cold. He eyed the fire suspiciously as if it had betrayed him by not warming him properly. He stood and gathered more wood to add to the flames, which were admittedly dying down. He breathed upon the stacked wood, igniting them once more in a roaring fire. Natsu settled upon the stone between the fire and the strange human girl, wondering why he had decided to save her in the first place as he drifted off to sleep.

Author's note: Well, this has been floating around in my brain for a while now. It had to be done. I don't know how often I will update, nor do I know how many chapters this will be. I do know I intend to finish it. Please drop me a line if you like it, or even if you want to point out errors!


	2. Chapter 2

The Dragon and The Princess

When Lucy awoke again her view was dominated by the muscular back of the dragon-turned-human. He had lain down between her and the fire at some point after her latest fainting spell, and was blocking some of the excess heat from reaching her. As she sat up Lucy spotted her clothing, which had been set out close to the fire to dry out. She stood up and padded her way softly to where her clothing was, clutching at the cloth that was being used as blanket. She glanced quickly over her shoulder to make sure that Natsu was still sleeping before she redressed. The princess moved back over to where the man slept. Well, dragon in man form, anyway. She couldn't help but notice that he looked cold, which seemed odd to her for someone directly in front of a roaring fire. As she bent down to place the blanket on him, he reacted. Quick as a flash, she found herself pressed firmly onto her back and looking up at his snarling visage. Lucy was too startled to speak as she stared into his odd green eyes, and she stayed very still not knowing what he might do to her. It took a few moments, but Natsu's eyes finally seemed to focus. He pushed himself up off of her, looking sheepish.

"My apologies." He murmured.

"No, no." She argued, "I startled you."

Natsu settled into a cross-legged position on the floor a few feet from the blonde girl, not knowing what to say or do. She confused him, greatly. One moment she would be fine, the next she had fainted. Now she was apologizing for startling him awake. He thanked the ancestors that he had not been in his true form. Lucy seemed to study him as well, and she had so many questions to ask, but did not want to be rude. They sat staring at one another for a good while, the crackling of the fire the only sound between them. Until Natsu's stomach growled. Loudly. Lucy giggled, though quickly covered it as not to offend him. Natsu grinned widely, showing canine teeth that were far sharper than a normal human's might be. Lucy blinked, not expecting his reaction. How he could manage to look so wild and yet so at ease with that smile was beyond her. The dragon laughed, a loud roaring laugh that startled Lucy. Her expressions delighted him, for some unknown reason. Lucy couldn't help as she joined in, his laughter infectious.

How strange her life had so suddenly become. Five, possibly six, days ago she was stuffed into a corset and practically being auctioned off to the highest bidder by her father the king. She was barely of marrying age as it was, and her father was looking to make sure someone was put on the throne that would take the Heartfilia name and be a puppet after he abdicated; even if that someone was more than twice Lucy's age. Now she was sitting in a cave, laughing over the sounds of a stomach growling with a dragon of myth turned into human form. Their laughter quieted, though the grin never left Natsu's face. He stood and dusted off the seat of his pants.

"I need to hunt." He stated bluntly, running a hand through his odd colored hair, "In my natural form."

"O-oh." She stuttered, not sure what that meant for her.

"Will you… be all right by yourself?" He asked, "The fire should last at least until I return."

"Of course. Ah... did you happen to bring my pack?" Lucy inquired, "I had some food in there that was packaged in a way that would have survived the rain."

Natsu thought for a moment of the things he had brought in with her, and nodded. "It is by the smaller cave entrance. I had a hard time carrying it and you, as I am not used to this form."

She smiled gratefully at him and could easily see the way to go from the direction he pointed. She also noted that he was having an easier time talking than he did before, "You have my appreciation once more. I will be more than fine until you return."

"I will move farther into the cave system." Natsu grinned, "Not enough room for me to transform."

He sniffed the breeze that blew in from the smaller entrance and nodded. No rain today. He left the girl as he moved deeper into the complex of caves within the mountain, until he reached the ones large enough for him to transform. Immediate relief flooded his system as his inner fire warmed him to the core. Wings flexed and muscles stretched. It would be good to hunt.

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Lucy ate some of the dried meat and cheese that she had packed at the entrance to the cave, wondering exactly where they were within the forest. She hadn't remembered any mountains in view from where she had started. Just how far had she gone in her blind stumbling? And how far had Natsu taken her to reach this cave? Lucy shook her head. It was no use in wondering. Her thoughts turned to Loke and how furious he would be with her by now, and if her father had bothered to send out a search party. She snorted, a very unladylike reaction, but she did it nonetheless. Let her father go mad trying to find his disobedient, runaway daughter. Lucy did worry about Loke, though. She hoped that her father did not suspect that he, nor her personal maid, had anything to do in helping facilitate her escape.

Not knowing how long it would take a dragon to hunt and eat his fill, Lucy sorted the items in her pack to see what had survived her run through the forest. The majority of the fresh fruits she had packed were either bruised beyond the point of eating, or had left a mess in the pack. Her whip was intact, which was a relief. It had been a gift from Loke, who had taught her to use it to protect herself. Her small pouch with coins was wet, but still tied tightly. She dug down farther and found a small leather case that her mother had left her upon her death. It held ornamental keys within it, ones her mother had often mentioned in relation to the constellations. Putting those back she searched more. The map she had was in complete ruin. The parchment was muddied and soaked through. The princess sighed, wondering how she was going to get anywhere without it. That brought her thoughts back to where exactly she was. She supposed she would ask Natsu when he returned. She shook her head. Relying on a man – dragon – she had just met was a ridiculous notion, but what choice did she have?

An odd noise in the back of the cave system gave her a start, and she wondered if perhaps Natsu had returned from his hunting trip so soon. She stood and walked back toward the rear exit. There was definite movement back there. Moving farther back, she wished that she had brought a burning stick from the fire with her. The cave was dark, and the glow from the fire only reached so far back here. Working up her courage she moved along the wall, feeling her way along until she could no longer see more than a few feet in front of her. She heard a sharp intake of breath, felt it as well when the air tugged at her.

"Natsu?" She whispered, trying to keep the panic from her voice.

Suddenly a large dark gray colored dragon head loomed before her. Lucy had a moment to wonder how creatures so large could be so silent before a scream tore from her. She scrambled back as the dragon lurched forward at her.

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The red dragon had just finished his meal, a small herd of deer, when he smelled another dragon. It was considered against dragon etiquette to enter the domain of another without announcing oneself first. He didn't appreciate another dragon being in his territory, not with Lucy under his care. If the dragon was looking for him, they would be led straight to his den because that was where his scent was strongest. He hissed steam and launched himself into the air. The flight was not long, but to Natsu flying had never seemed as slow as it did now. The closer he got to his den, the stronger the scent of the other dragon was. The scent was vaguely familiar, almost metallic, though it was not from the dragon that the scent reminded him of. He landed outside the cave entrance with a loud thud, loud enough to hopefully catch the attention of the other dragon wherever they might be. He realized that the dragon had already arrived when he heard Lucy's scream from inside. The red dragon charged headlong into the cave, his sinuous body easily avoiding the stalactites and stalagmites dotting this portion of the complex.

His vision was sufficient in low-light environs to make out the tail end of a dark gray dragon ahead of him. He roared loudly, not caring that he may have given away the element of surprise if it took the attention of the dragon away from the human girl. The other dragon half turned as Natsu collided with it. A flash of blonde hair distracted him as he watched Lucy flee down into the smaller portion of the cave. The distraction cost him, as the other dragon's forearm came slashing down in an attempt to pin his wing down. Natsu folded his wings in close to his body, the other dragon narrowly missing him, then suddenly snapped his wing back out to buffet the gray one. The gray dragon couldn't react in time and took the majority of the wing buffet to its head, dazing it momentarily. It was enough that Natsu was able to reposition himself between the dragon and the small cave where Lucy was huddled. Natsu bull-rushed the gray one, but it had recovered from the hit enough to get its foreclaws up in time to catch Natsu.

Now Natsu realized the disadvantage of getting into a situation where they were grappling. Natsu was smaller, sleeker than the other dragon, which was larger and outweighed him. He needed to fight dirty if this was going to end well for him. With both foreclaws engaged with the gray one's, Natsu's head whipped forward and he bit the juncture where the dragon's right wing met the shoulder. The gray dragon roared in pain, for that was a particularly tender spot where the scares were not quite as think due to needed flexibility. Natsu felt the grip on his claws lessen, and reared back his head to roar a jet of flame at the other dragon. The gray dragon retreated with a roar of frustration, and fled the cave.

Natsu's body heaved from the sudden excursion of having to fight and use his breath against another of his kind. He hadn't had a real fight against another dragon, had only sparred with his father and that was many years ago. A whimper from somewhere behind him pulled him back into focus. Shifting took energy that he didn't really have to spare, but he needed to make sure that the girl was all right. He stumbled, naked as he had no time to search for the pants he had worn earlier, into the smaller cave. He grabbed the cloth and wrapped his lower body in it.

"Lucy?!" He yelled, looking about wildly for the blonde.

"H-here." She called back to him from where she had hidden near the small entrance. Lucy shakily made her way back to him, face ashen from fright.

"Are you injured?"

"I am unharmed." Lucy said, fear still evident in her voice.

Natsu did not know what possessed him in that moment to wrap his arms around her as he had observed humans doing when comforting one another; however from the way she slumped against him and her arms slowly slid around his torso, he knew that he had chosen rightly.

Author's note: Oh geez. Um. So, please don't expect to get updates like this often. Inspiration struck, and I wanted to get this done before I lost it. I should be sleeping right now. Lol.

Thank you to those that favorited, followed or reviewed the first chapter. Much appreciated!


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